SMU adds former Kentucky coach Hal Mumme to staff

DALLAS (AP) — Hal Mumme joined the staff of SMU coach June Jones on Wednesday, bringing together two men behind some of the most prolific passing offenses in NCAA history.

Mumme, who will be Jones' assistant head coach and passing game coordinator, was head coach at Division II McMurry (Texas) the past four seasons, producing three straight winning seasons for a program that had gone eight years without one. McMurry won its first postseason game since 1949 with a Division III playoff victory in 2011, and went 8-3 as an independent in its first season in Division II last year.

Mumme is a former head coach at Kentucky, where he led the Wildcats to their first win over Alabama in 75 years in his first season in 1997. He finished with a four-year record of 20-26. He also has been head coach at New Mexico State, Southeastern Louisiana, Valdosta State and Iowa Wesleyan.

Three of the top seven quarterbacks in career passing yards per game were coached by Jones or Mumme.

Colt Brennan is No. 2 on the list at 373.5, and he was Jones' starter when Hawaii went undefeated in the regular season and played in the Sugar Bowl after the 2007 season. Hawaii beat Mumme-coached New Mexico State that year.

Chase Holbrook averaged 329.1 yards per game under Mumme at New Mexico State to rank fifth all-time, and Hawaii's Timmy Chang is No. 7 at 322.1.

Mumme's arrival also brings some NCAA baggage to the only school that has received the so-called death penalty for recruiting violations. Mumme resigned under pressure at Kentucky in 2001 amid an investigation that led to a one-year bowl ban and a reduction in scholarships.

Mumme was not individually sanctioned, but his recruiting coordinator, Claude Bassett, was effectively banned from working at an NCAA school for eight years. The NCAA said more than $7,000 was spent by Kentucky, primarily through Bassett, for improper recruiting or gifts of money to high school coaches and prospects.

While at New Mexico State, Mumme was accused in a lawsuit of discriminating against four Muslim players. The lawsuit was settled without the school admitting wrongdoing.

Just a few weeks after he was fired with a four-year record of 11-38 at New Mexico State, Mumme revealed that he was being treated for prostate cancer. He took the McMurry job two months later.